Author
Topic: Magitech Society (Read 1634 times)

I'm trying to come up with a society that completely relies on magic for almost all technological purposes. The world itself started out with very little difference from earth, any mystical animals are the result of (in)sane mages playing god with natural creatures. Sources to pull from: Eberron, Arcanum from the Hell's Gate books, Full Metal Alchemist

Pulling off of GURPS tech levels this is what I've got so far:

General TL - 5* Transport (TL5) locomotives, steamboats, airships. All of these powered by magic instead of steam.* Weapons/Armor (TL2/6/9) Iron weapons; iron armor (including mail); siege engines. Smokeless powder; automatic weapons; tanks; combat aircraft. Electrolasers; heavy laser weapons; battlesuits; combat robots; designer viruses. This is the most schitzo'd tech level present, without the need to develop gunpowder (why would you when magic does all that stuff so much easier) you have TL2 at the personal weapon level; swords, knives, crossbows, ect. MOST of the heavy combat capabilities are are at the WWI level, whether through straight magic or genetic manipulation. Also available are magical space marine armor, gene warfare, golems.* Power (TL NA) Magic. None of the stuff requires the direct presence of a mage to power it, instead a battery of sorts is charged to plug into the device in question and power it.* Biotech (3/8) Crude prosthetics; anatomical science. Genetically modified organisms; gene therapy; cloning. Healing magic eliminates the need for most modern medicine; including prosthetics. Prosthetics do exist, however they're more like what would be found in cyberpunk than in the modern world, a maginetic arm is a lot stronger than a human one, and can be used for so much more than just arming stuff.

Specifics - TransportationTrain - levitated over the rail bed and propelled with simple movement spells, the trains of this world are capable of sustained speeds well over 100mph.Airship - much wider used than the zeppelin was in our world, the ship itself is held aloft by He filled ballons and propelled with the same magic used in the train.Boat - pretty much the same story hereDragon - genetically modified over the years to be big and angry, the transport varieties are also capable of carrying roughly 12 people on their back at a time. While they are slower than airships, they are also capable of taking off/landing from unimproved airstrips and are a lot more resilient to ground fire.Horse - Now the regular horse is a good animal for individual transport, but it has a lot of room for improvement. The people of this world did so, capable of trotting at the speed an unaugmented horse can gallop and sustaining that pace with minimal rest for days at a time it is easy to see why the mages of this world were unhappy with the original.Roc - primarily a military form of transport, with that word being used liberally, it can only carry a single passenger. Designed for an air-to-air role it is essentially an upscaled peregrine falcon for taking out dragons.

Now requesting more ideas. I don't care how fleshed out they are, or even if it's just a cool picture you found that you think would fit.

Logged

For the love of meat, shut up! No one wants to hear your emo character background! My hands are literally melting away, and I'm complaining less than you!—K'seliss, Goblins

If life was modified by (in)sane mages, they will have ignored ethics often enough to create beasts, or even human variants that breed true.Some are made for combat, for servitude, for entertainment, for economical reasons, or even out of some perverted motive.You could also have ones that were never intended to live, but still managed - dangerously cunning monsters that may be resistant to further magic, antagonistic of mages or humanity as a whole, possessing incredible physique, or all of the above.

You will have much social tension as well - after all, in this world, the academicians are dangerous, and if what Gandalf says is true, then also quick to anger. They may decide that cuts to government funding of their institution necessitates turning the parliament into truffles, then throwing them to the pigs.

Depending on how malevolent and cunning the supernatural is, you may have holes in the fabric of reality, demonic incursions, tentacles from everywhere.